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Electronic components in cabinets Whether they want to minimize clutter or just keep the cat away from the printer, my clients have lots of reasons for wanting to keep various pieces of office equipment behind closed doors. Here are some tips for hiding the equipment. • Put equipment on full-extension pullout shelves to allow access to all sides of any component for ease of maintenance and connectivity. There should be a 2-in. gap between the back of the shelf and the back of the cabinet for wires. A CPU holder from Doug Mockett frees up desktop workspace without compromising ventilation. Leave a 2-in. gap at the back of the cabinet for wires to hang vertically. • Provide adequate ventilation for each machine. There are plenty of variables here, depending on the type and the number of components. One rule of thumb is that the interior cabinet temperature should stay within a range between 55°F and 90°F. Dell advises that a CPU in a cabinet should have 4 in. of clearance above and on all sides and that at least 30% of the cabinet-door area be open. This is a good place for a decorative grille as a door panel. Another way to keep the equipment in the right temperature range is with fans. Cool Components is one source. • Although it doesn’t exactly hide the CPU, suspending it under the desk frees valuable worksurface space. • Design cabinets for equipment bigger than the devices you currently own to accommodate new equipment in the future. • Create a charging drawer for small items (iPods, cameras, PDAs, cell phones, smart phones) that need regular charging. Inside the drawer, attach a surge protector connected to a retractable extension cord. This is a surefire way to keep desktop clutter to a minimum. Wireless? Not quite yet Pullout shelves keep bulky stuff at arm’s length. Heavy-duty fullextension drawer slides support the weight of a deep file drawer and a shelf for the printer in this armoire-style cabinet. The wireless revolution is upon us, but even in this era of Bluetooth technology and wireless keyboards and mice, we have not completely eliminated annoying cables. Your challenge is organizing and hiding wires while still retaining accessibility. Here are some tips for handling the mess. • Look at the equipment you intend to house on top of the worksurface. Examine their power and connectivity requirements. Select the number and location of grommet holes you want to accommodate these needs. The diameter of each hole is determined by the number of wires it will hold. Grommets come in various sizes, shapes, finishes, and materials. Doug Mockett and Häfele are good resources. • Grommet holes either feed wires from the desktop to outlets below or into wire channels affixed to the underside of the desktop and the sides of the cabinet (photos right). The channels then feed the wires to an outlet or into an adjacent cabinet. This minimizes the unsightly wires that are so often visible hanging at the rear underside of the desk. Channels come in various lengths, configurations, and colors, and they are easily cut. • Touch-fastener cable ties are invaluable for wire management (photo right bottom). They make it easy to group and label wires for ease of movement and identification. www.finehomebuilding.com Wire channels mounted under a desk keep the cables from turning into a tangled mess. Rip-Tie touch-fastener cable ties stick to the cabinet sides. SPRING/SUMMER 2010 89